Blizzard is adding a 6v6 Role Queue mode to Overwatch Competitive play at the start of Season 6. The limited-time mode will run for the first four weeks of the season as a Competitive mini-season using a 2-2-2 team structure: two tanks, two damage heroes and two supports.
Aaron Keller, game director for Overwatch, announced the test in a Director’s Take blog post. The mode will launch with a balance patch designed specifically for 6v6 matches, which Keller identified as one of the community’s main requests for a Role Queue version of the format.
Three Competitive formats will be available
Season 6 will offer the new test alongside the existing Competitive options. Standard 5v5 Role Queue will remain the primary mode, while 6v6 Open Queue will continue to be available with the new 6v6 balance patch. The 6v6 Role Queue mini-season will provide the third option on the season’s first day.
- 5v5 Role Queue: the main Competitive format.
- 6v6 Open Queue: a returning format with flexible team roles.
- 6v6 Role Queue: a four-week test with two tanks, two damage heroes and two supports on each team.
Blizzard will keep Open Queue 6v6 running during the Role Queue test to compare how players use the two formats. The company is testing whether players prefer Open Queue because it allows flexible role selection or because it restores six-player teams.
The developer previously ran two 6v6 tests using different queue structures. Keller said those tests did not produce the format players were seeking. The new version is intended to test the traditional 2-2-2 arrangement within a Role Queue system.
Dedicated balance and matchmaking changes
The 6v6 update will include hero adjustments for differences between the five-player and six-player formats. Keller cited D.Mon as a hero who is more effective in 6v6 and Domina as a hero who is less effective in that team structure. Blizzard plans to monitor the results and continue making balance changes for the mode.
Two tanks per team have historically contributed to longer queues, so Blizzard is also shipping matchmaking changes with Season 6. The team expects those changes to help manage queue times and will track queues across all three Competitive formats.
We're starting to think of it as a second among equals
Keller wrote that Blizzard has no plans to replace the main Overwatch mode with 6v6. The team will instead treat 6v6 as a continuing option alongside 5v5 and put additional work into balancing it.
Blizzard’s surveys found players divided nearly evenly between the two team formats. In each group, 32% of respondents said they fully supported their preferred format. Limited-time modes will continue alongside the Competitive queues, and Mystery Madness is scheduled to return in Season 1 of 2027 with a new theme and new powers.
